The Three Crowns
The Empire of The Three Crowns (Impera Te Sil Krat) was born in 1453, from an alliance between three realms: Byzan, Helos and Maka. The capital city is the Holy City of Darkoplis, based on the old Byzant region. Byzan This part of the empire is based on the center of the territory, and it's the heart of the empire nowadays, where the main factories have settled and the wealthy live. However, between the 5,800,000 habitants there isn't a lot of changes when it comes to lifestyle: the main difference is that wealthy make their life, and the others take what life gives them. Darkoplis thrived by being the safest docking bay in a wide range, being bathed by the Bospher river. This river dominates the region, as its multiple streams spread like tentacles, and every city in this part of the empire is near one of them. Helos The northern region of Helos is dominated by the famous Heu Mountains , which are claimed to never been climbed before. Legend has it that the gods have forbid the enter of any mortal in their peak, an explanation denied by the scientists, claiming that the bad weather and strong winds are responsible for that fact. The main city and former capital of the country was Mikonos, placed on the base of the Heu Mountains, and the last habitable city in a range of 30Km, the results of a civil war in 1204. This region is almost deserted, due to the bad weather caused by the giant mountains. However, Mikonos still olds 126,000 people inside its limits. Helos does not have many rivers, but Mikopolis is based near the Scorpion river (named after its birthplace, the Scorpion Lake, up in the Heu Mountains), rich in trouts, which made from the former capital of Helos the principal city for trout fishing. After some hard years, when that activity was forbidden due to the almost-extinction of trouts, now only in the three months of Summer its fishing is allowed, unless for fishing enterprises, where the amount of fish is controlled so that the trout does not pass again the barrier leading th extinction. Maka The region of Maka is the warmest of the three, and that explains the various jungles existing in its perimeter. The main city here is Skanja, trapped between two massive forests, and making money by organizing safaris. Bountyhunters were outlawed and, when found, they were hanged on public street; however, public executions were forbidden since the formation of the empire. Maka has hundreds of cities on its limits, with a medium of 50,000 habitants/city. The huge jungles of Maka are filled with rivers, the most important of them is the Ronspin river (5416 m), that enters in Maka from the west and enters in the sea through the south of the region. HISTORY 1500 years ago, the region today known by The Three Crowns was part of an immense empire, known only as "O Ninho" (the nest). By that time, a terrible civil war begun, the ruler was murdered and the capital was destroyed, leaving each province on its own. The region of South Kereshea was divided in three little protectorates, each one dreaming of building an empire. Helos started expanding northward, engulfing the rich city of Taradorgrad (named after the great explorer, Tarador Khofin), famous for its gold and silver mines, and soon, Helos has enough money to start an attack on the other former provinces of the Nest. The ruler of that time, Justin, abolished the council, became Emperor and began a campaign of conquests, that would end only in 1204, 39 emperors later, with the death of Michael IV, leaving no heir. The main warlords started fighting for the right to rule the empire, and that resulted in a 200 year-long bloody civil war, ended when Byzan began its invasion. Maka did not had the luck of finding an easy way of having money for an army, so, council began instigating the daughters of the most influent men in Maka to marry with the heirs of the neighbour countries. They eventually would succeed in creating an empire, although neither large nor stable. For instance, there were 66 emperors in only 100 years of existence of this empire. A few years later, however, after the conquest of the territory of Zonda (the only conquest Maka made due to a battle), they would all forget their problems and turn to defend their territory against the worst enemy they could find: Byzan. Stuck between Maka and Helos, Byzan did not have many chances to expand. They would eventually succeed in founding a colony far enough to begin expanding, connected to the main region by a 2 Km wide path. The new territory, called Zonda, became wider day by day, becoming even greater that Byzan. However, they assumed none of their sister-regions would try and attack them, so they only focused on the expansion; so it wasn't a surprise when, one day, the warriors of Maka appeared and, in a month, absorbed the region. Who wasn't pleased with that was the Byzan emperor, Andronicus III, who immediately declared a total war against the neighbours. After accumulating tons of golden coins, Byzon could afford a huge army, and that was proven when, despite all the efforts, in 612, Maka was beaten after a bloody 3 months siege. However, Andronicus III wasn't yet satisfied with the size of his empire. Not wanting to attack Helos, much stronger that Byzan, instead he began absorbing part of the remnants of the Nest, until in 624, Byzan was a rough copy of the former hyper-empire. And then, all started to go downhill for them. In 626, Andronicus’ wife, a Makatan, murdered him, and his sons, Andronicus IV and Romanus II, both wanted to rule the whole territory. As in Helos, all ended after a 10-year civil war, ending in 634 with the death of the heirs and the rise to power of a granddaughter of Andronicus. Unapt in politics, her 6 year reign was disastrous, and she had no other options than watch the provinces get their independent, including Maka, and finally, in 640, see as Isaac, a military chief, relieved her from the Empire. After Isaac, Byzan entered in a Dark Age, when Emperors ruled only months; until, in 701, it was the time for Basil IX. Basil IX came from a poor family, which lived far from the capital and its intrigues, but at the age of 16, he was forced to go to the military, where he began escalating for power. In five years, he was general of the Byzan military and a strong name to the Imperial Chair. After the death of Constantin XXI, he was appointed Regent in place of Constantin's son, Isaac. Basil, however, managed to be associated with him, and it wasn't very hard for him to get rid of the heir and have the empire all for himself. He began a regime that would change Byzan forever. The wealthy were stripped of their goods and lots of them were prosecuted and executed. Riots were controlled by killing the manifestants, the golden coin had no value on international exchanges, and even Maka and Helos looked with fear to their neighbour. After the liberation of the Byzan rule, Maka never again thought about recreating their empire; instead, they devoted to cultural achievements, the exploration of the numerous jungles and the cataloguing its species. But when Basil IX began ruling, the streets of the southern region became almost empty, with fear of more attacks. Basil, however, never looked to expand, instead he thought of redistributing the wealth for the poor. Although he was half-succeeded, the population wasn't happy because of the lack of freedoms, but they would have to endure the regime for over 750 years. The last emperor of this period, John XVII, decided to do what his predecessors hadn’t had the guts to do: invade a weak Helos, devastated from almost 250 years of civil war. But we would pay the price for his boldness: he was killed while leading an attack against Mikonos. His successor, Tiberius, was able to avenge his father and bend Helos to its knees, but wouldn't live enough to actually rule over the two countries: in 1452, he was killed by the son of the Helos' emperor, Alexus, just before he too was assassinated by the person that would change the region: Michael Paleologus. Born in a once rich family, Michael was always told to try and change the country, for he would make a great emperor. Like Basil, he had to enter the military with 16, and like Basil too, he was promoted to general very early. After the death of Tiberius, he sworn revenge for the sake of Byzan's name, and it wasn't long before he could find Alexus and avenge his friend. At the Chair, he began revolutionizing the country, under his motto "Liberty or Death": jails were abolished, instead criminals were re-educated and given jobs to pay their debts; people could say whatever they wanted, do whatever they wanted without no-one asking them, which was a change for the last centuries. In 8th July 1453 he ended the battle between Helos and Byzan, by merging them in a single border, forming the Empire of the Two Crowns. A mere year later, a Maka delegate asked Michael to join the empire too, giving form to what is known today as the Empire Of The Three Crowns. Michael, after a brief discussion, became the first emperor of the new empire, under the name Michael I Paleologus. For the next 550 years, there wouldn't be any major conflict inside the empire, although some minor skirmishes over unimportant items occurred from time to time. POPULATION As pointed before, Helos is almost a ghost region: lots of helons emmigrated to the most temperate southern regions, while the poor had to settle for Mikonos, making it the biggest city of the region. However, there are still some minor villages in the slope of the Heu Mountains, with circa 80 habitants each. Byzon benefited from having the upper hand in the empire's economy, and it was a matter of time before people from other regions would come and settle in the region. Darkoplis holds 800,000 people inside its limits, and lots more around it. As for Maka, because of its weather conditions and its cultural richness, was chosen by many immigrants to settle and live, which explains the massive number of cities existing in the region,making it the most populated from the three, although the conditions Byzan offers. Skanja itself is the second biggest city in the empire, with almost 500,00 inhabitants. Numbers (Jan 2004) :Region - Habitants (est) (% of the total habitants) :HELOS - 541,000 (1,34%) :BYZAN - 18,250,000 (45,51%) :MAKA - 21,315,000 (53,15%) Total: 40,105,000 RULER Nowadays, The Three Crowns ir ruled by a direct descendent of Michael Paleologus, Alexander II Paleologus. Apologist of freedom for all, like his antecessor, he does not like to see unhappy people in the streets of Darkoplis; some may call him a soft-hearted, but after 5 years on the Imperial Chair, Alexander, 26, has yet to commit his first fault. Overall, people think he's the best ruler after Michael I, and some even say he's better than the founder of the Three Crowns. He's still single, and that's why some magazines call him "playboy"; but in an interview, he just said "I just want to enjoy the best aspects of life, because I'm stuck with the worst part of it". Nevertheless, he always appears with a smile in his lips, a joke on his head and a healthy disposition. POLITICS Michael Paleologus wrote it: "The Emperor is above the law; only he can accept or deny laws, and make some of his own; however, the people have the right to choose who they want to carry the people's message to the Emperor". Each 5 years, people choose from the multiple parties who'll occupy the 259 places of the Karpa, or "House of Laws", while the Takseten (moderator) is chosen by the Emperor. The party which obtained the most amount of places of the Karpa, must then choose who'll form the Taksa (Government), where one element is in charge of a certain aspect, and must, from time to time, talk in front of the whole Karpa about the problems people find in their specific matter, and present some motions to votation. RULING BODY :Emperor: Alexander II Paleologus :Takseten (Moderator): Morganos Vafatidis :Gkotano Taksese (Minister of Health): Niceforus Lascaris :Aletesin Taksese (Minister of Finance): Joanna Stalavrakou :Vilaikin Taksese (Minister of Education): Michael Annatolikis :Kotermena Taksese (Minister of Culture): Anna Constantinou :Kosin i Alaktamina Taksese (Minister of Science & Technology): Duran Karaboniesivas :Patatres Komadas Taksese (Minister of the Armed Forces): Yanni Karamatsou :Foretekimitoka Taksese (Minister of Foreign Aspects): Petrus Elemantinus :Hostekanastalek Taksese (Minister for Environment Conservation): Vazas Karataidis :Intivipe Taksese (Minister of Industry): Dimitris Saravakos :Setimena Taksese (Minister of Economy): Michael Saramobrives :Fetiska Taksese (Minister of Sport): Vrizas Papadopoulos When a motion is delivered, the Karpers (deputies) discuss it, vote it, and if it's approved, the motion is delivered to the Emperor, who has the supreme right to approve or not any motion. If it's approved, then it becomes a law; if not, no-one will hear about it again. As said before, the Karpa has 259 places, and in the last years, the STB (Workers' Centrist Party) have occupied almost 45% of the seats. The once great KTBS (Left-Wing Proletariat Represetatives), the first party to hold 60% of the Karpa, followers of the Basilian policy, now only has 2 Karpers. Alliances to have the supreme majority (55%) are not allowed. CONSTITUTION OF THE KARPA :STB (Workers' Centrist Party) - 116 :FCB (Social-Democratic Party) - 66 :GT (New Hope) - 37 :HGP (Nature Conservation Party) - 25 :SKB (Right-Wing Party) - 8 :JB (People Party) - 5 :KTBS (Left-Wing Proletariat Representatives) - 2 ECONOMY Each region has its own main stronghold: Helos' is the trout industry, has an economy based essentially on its docks alongside the Bospher river, and Maka subsists on excursions and safaris onto the jungles. However, there's an enterprise that every region supports with good-look: carpentry. For years the Three Crowns has gained some name internacionally because of its unique furniture, and large amounts of golden coins have entered the coffers of the most-known carpenters. The medium income is about 2,1 million golden coins/year (105 million dollars). And this is only 65% of the incoming with the exports. In exchange, much of this money is spent importing tons of metals, as the Empire's metallurgy is still in its early stages. In a year, the Three Crowns, can spend almost to 1,3 million golden coins (65 million dollars), almost 95% of the total imports cost. STATISTICS :Name: The Empire Of The Three Crowns :Location: the South Pacific :Form of Government: Liberal-Democratic Empire :Area: 784,000 Km2 :Population: 40,105,000 habitants :Capital: Darkoplis :Coin: Golden Coin :Official Language: Acayan :Ethnic groups: Acayans 79%; Osmans 16%; Others 5% :National Holyday: 8 of July, the Kertika (Foundation) :Official Religion: None category:Nations